Being versus Doing

For the past several months, there has been a great deal of uncertainty as to where I will be focusing my time and attention. This uncertainty has brought with it a level of anxiety and a desire to have the uncertainty eliminated.

Recently, I've noticed that even though there is still a fair amount of uncertainty, the level of anxiety and the desire to have the uncertainty eliminated have drastically diminished. At first I thought I had simply become used to living in the midst of the uncertainty. But on further reflection, I realize that something more basic has occurred.

I've always struggled with putting too much of my significance on what I do (as noted in the previous post). There is an alternative...and that is to place our significance on who we are. Or, saying something similar with different language, drawing our identity from who we are rather than what we do. Focusing on being rather than doing.

One way to measure where we are deriving our identity is the level of anxiety regarding the future...especially when the future is unclear regarding our activitites. If our identity is based upon our actions rather than who we are, then the level of anxiety will be quite high. But if our identity is based on who we are which is not uncertain, then the level of anxiety will be much less.

We can't control the world in which we undertake our doings. However, we can control how much significance we place on those doings, and instead ground our identity in who we are in Christ. That's something that will never change!